A Cursed Blessing
by dreaming-of-fireflies
Summary: "It looked like regardless of whether it was with an ordinary boy, or with an undead one, the cliché held true: teenage girls are constantly heartbroken by boys that use them and then leave them." In which Edward Cullen leaves Isabella Swan heart broken, alone and pregnant. With options lacking, and her not-quite-human child growing, she turns to the only vampires that will help.
1. Preface

**Preface**

The first lesson my mother ever taught me as a child was to 'treat others as I would myself', or something along those lines. However, what she failed to mention was that a select amount of people saw themselves above that rule- above common curtesy. She also left out what to do when a person like that screwed you over.

I stood with my back to my small paradise. To the house where I raised two beautiful children, as well as rebuilt my life from when it was pushed into chaos. The heat of the Italian summer beat down onto my back and he stepped forward.

Like the rest of us, he was immortalized beneath marble skin and hadn't changed since I last saw him. Large amber eyes looked pleadingly into mine. I knew what he wanted.

If I had a choice- and I did, I was always given the illusion of choice by my benefactors- I would leave here immediately and disappear off the face of the earth. Unfortunately, I had a mission to achieve.

Alice Cullen would join the Volturi, even if I had to drag her kicking and screaming.

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 **To those of you that came from wattpad, this is the newly edited version of 'New New Moon', a Twilight fanfiction I wrote a long time ago. I hope this reboot was worth the wait.**

 **To those of you that are new, welcome! This fanfic begins at the end of the first book in the series. Each chapter will be around 1000 words long, and I'll be updating (hopefully) every Monday and Thursday. Have a look at my bio if you're interested in my original works on wattpad, or if I haven't updated as planned.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Very few things had changed about my appearance since I met Edward Cullen.

My hair was still waist-length, pin straight and mahogany brown. My eyes matched, though they were perhaps a shade darker. I had not achieved a tan (though, really, that had always been wishful thinking) nor had I grown taller. However, there was one aspect that had changed drastically:

There was a bump on my abdomen.

It wasn't a particularly large bump- I had to turn precisely the right way for it to be obvious in the mirror- but it was undeniably there. The formerly soft skin was slightly hard under my hand. I knew what it was- why else would I have grown a cup size? Although, I guess I was hoping that puberty had just finally set in.

There really had been no signs to warn me. No nausea, no weird food cravings. If I analyzed the weeks since the Incident (yes, it was so monumental that it deserved a capital), I was maybe a bit more fatigued?

I never intended this to happen and neither did Edward, I suppose. It was meant to be completely _impossible_. Despite the fact that he was a walking, talking being, Edward Cullen was, in the definition of science, well and truly _dead._ He had no heartbeat or body heat. He didn't need food to survive and he never needed to use the bathroom. And, despite all of this, it looked like he could still produce viable sperm. How did I come to this conclusion? Because I, Isabella Marie Swan, was pregnant- even if the only person I'd ever been intimate with was an undead vampire.

Our time together that one night was both wondrous and terrifying. I'd woken up with bruises all over my body, and we'd destroyed the couch in his room. I didn't regret it but it had been a lot trickier to achieve than I thought it would be. Regardless, Edward refused to even touch me afterwards and, to this day, rarely ever held my hand anymore.

Adding that to the disastrous birthday party last week, and I felt like our whole relationship was on the rocks. Maybe, now that he'd had his fill of me, he realized that it was all just too troublesome?

My hand traced over the bump carefully for the thousandth time, still in disbelief that it was _real_. I had no idea what to do. I couldn't tell Charlie, I was terrified of telling Edward and his family were the only close friends I had. Looking at it now, it was like I had boxed myself into a corner.

"Bella?" his distinctive voice called from my window. I was certain that the sirens from Greek mythology must have come from encounters with vampires. Pulling down my shirt, I walked around the door of my wardrobe (which had the mirror attached to it) and approached where he was sitting on my bed.

"Hello Edward." I didn't sit next to him; he hadn't visited me in my room for a whole week. "Is there something wrong?"

"I was wondering if… if you'd like to come with me, on a walk," was his reply. The uncertainty in his voice was clear and uncharacteristic. I reached out my hand to comfort him, but he quickly stood and made his way back towards the window. My hand clenched into a fist.

"Where are we going?" I asked, climbing onto his back as he crouched before me.

"Just into the forest- I need to talk to you about something that cannot be overheard."

"I… need to tell you something too."

We made it to a small clearing, just off one of the familiar trails near my house, only a few seconds later. His speed left me dizzy for a moment before I awkwardly jumped off him.

"Edward, I-"

"Bella, we're leaving."

Because we spoke at the same time, I thought I'd misheard him. However, when I looked up at his face, his large topaz eyes stared back at me with that same expression he had held for weeks- regret. I hadn't been able to place it before, but now, after those words and the isolation I had experienced from the rest of the Cullens, I realized what it meant.

"So soon? I thought we were going to stay for the rest of the year- until we graduate? I can't just leave Charlie without even finishing my education, he'd never let me."

"No… Bella, not 'we're' as in us," he motioned in the space between us.

"'We're' as in?"

"As in, just my family and I." He stared at me again, like he was waiting for a volcano to explode. As the words sunk in, I felt an unimaginable sense of dread begin to encompass my body.

It looked like regardless of whether it was with an ordinary boy, or with an undead one, the cliché held true: teenage girls are constantly heartbroken by boys that use them and then leave them. I never thought something like that would apply to me, but I was wrong.

"I'm coming with you," I whispered, trying to sound stern and less pathetic. "I _have_ to come with you, Edward. You can't leave me behind, not like this!"

"Bella-"

"Is this about turning me? About giving up my soul for immortality? Because you already own it, Edward, just like you have my heart. I love you."

"I don't want you to come, Bella. I don't love you anymore!" he shouted before I could continue to argue my case. I instinctively took a step back. "My family, they all agree that I should be with someone of my own kind, Bella. Humans… they have fleeting hearts."

"How could you say that? After everything we've been through? After everything we've _done_?"

He lowered his head and stared at the damp forest floor, thick lashes fluttering to conceal his vibrant eyes. "It was all a mistake Bella. It's time for both of us to move on."

I sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. "You don't know what you're saying."

"It's over, Bella. By the time you wake up tomorrow morning, we will all be gone." He turned his back to me and began to walk into the forest.

"No, Edward wait!" I tried to follow him but by the time I reached the tree line, he had vanished.

Tears of disbelief filled my eyes as I slid down to my knees. My mouth opened and formed the words I had been trying to tell him all night, soundless due to the sobs escaping my throat.

"I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, I'm…"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I walked numbly into biology. As my baby grew, my belly uncharacteristically followed. For the first time I found myself glad that I lived in Forks, where bulky, unflattering clothes were a necessity to fight the cold weather. According to the parenting websites online, I had gotten surprisingly lucky with this pregnancy. I still hadn't experienced any nausea and my only craving was for a less well cooked steak. At 20 weeks, most of my life hadn't changed since the Cullens left, however, I knew that I couldn't compare this pregnancy to any other. There was no way of telling whether my baby was a vampire or not.

And due to the fact that there was the slightest chance it was, I couldn't tell anyone about it either.

I sat with Angela the majority of the time during lunch. Her presence was calming and I liked that she never tried to force conversation. Most of my friends from when I started at Forks High had welcomed me back with open arms, but she was by far the one I was closest to.

For once, I found myself unhindered by the slippery entryway into class (it had been raining for a solid three days, so most doorways were slick with water) as I bypassed hanging my coat in the provided cubbies. The heater was on but I wasn't effected by the increase in temperature- I never felt hot or cold anymore. I had begun to notice the changes in my senses around 15 weeks in. Everything had become advanced, I could see more and hear more. The clumsiness that had once defined me had disappeared. My only explanation for the changes was that my body was naturally adapting to carrying a child that wasn't fully human.

When I sat at my empty table, I finally realized that the teacher was introducing a new student. He was dressed casually in a long sleeved black top and dark jeans, a pair of standard hiking boots on his feet. This attempt at mediocrity failed epically in the wake of his brilliant crimson eyes and stunning face. Whispers around me admired his contact lenses but those eyes were real.

He was a vampire.

"Hello, my name is Demetri Leone," he murmured at the prompt of our teacher. His eyes surveyed the room before landing on me, and I knew at that moment that I was doomed. He knew. I didn't know who he was or how he had found out about me, but he knew that there was something wrong.

I shifted in my chair as he approached my desk, the only one with a spare seat. Sighs of aggravation echoed as the teacher prepared the projector.

"Why is it always her?" a girl named Samantha complained particularly loudly as he sat next to me. "First Cullen, and now this guy?"

I ignored her, this was hardly good luck. Leone sat next to me, his eyes not leaving my face. I kept my attention completely forward. The vampire seemed to study me, and his face grew unconsciously angry. Perhaps what tipped him off on was my scent? Did I already smell… non-human?

The teacher put on a video to introduce us to our new topic. I felt the familiar flutter in my stomach that indicated that the baby was moving. As Leone's head cocked to the side, I realized that he would be able to hear it. My chair scraped audibly as I attempted to stay as far away as possible. My body began to hum with adrenaline as he breathed in deeply, hands shaking as I reached out to grasp my pen and take notes. I could hear all of the tiny movements he made as he stared at me in confusion.

"What are you?" he whispered, too low for anyone else to hear over the clip playing at the front of the room. I blinked in confusion- did I really smell that strange?

I decided that my best bet at survival was to bluff. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me, you're not-" The abruptly video cut off, and the teacher turned the lights back on. He talked briefly about the reading that was required for homework before the bell rang. I stood immediately, my books already in my bag and marched purposely towards the door, losing myself in the crowd of students that were eager for lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't make it far out the door. A hand grasped my arm and yanked me in the opposite direction to the cafeteria.

I quickly found myself behind the chemistry building, pinned by unnaturally cold hands.

"I'll ask one last time, _what are you_?" Leone growled. "I was told to check on a vampire clan that had been staying here for the past two years, but you are not a vampire."

"No, I'm not," I agreed quickly. "I'm a human because, in case you haven't gotten the memo, vampires _don't_ exist."

He laughed at that, easing off me slightly. "Do not lie, Isabella Swan. I am one of the greatest trackers in the world. You may not be in contact with Carlisle's brood right now, but I can still smell them all over you. In addition, I can't feel you."

I gulped and shrank away from him. This creature was just like James- a vampire that lived for the hunt. "What are you talking about?" 'Feel' me? Did he have a similar power to Edward? "What do you want?"

"I want answers, of course. Standard protocol is to kill any humans that know of our secret, and you most certainly were told by the Cullens. However, since you are not all together human- do not try to deny it, Isabella- this becomes much more complicated." He leaned close and breathed in slowly. "My power is the ability to track anyone from any distance by sensing the presence of their mind. It is especially easy when I've come into contact with the person before, hence why I was sent to find Carlisle Cullen. I enrolled in this school when I heard that his children were keeping up some sort of strange act, where they pretended to be human teenagers. But I feel nothing from you and you smell neither human nor vampire. If anything I would consider you to be a hybrid, but that is impossible."

"Impossible," I repeated, eyes wide. "Are you sure?" Were there truly no others like me before? Was this pregnancy that much of an anomaly?

His ruby eyes narrowed. "It has never happened before, but many strange things can happen in this world. Explain now, Isabella, or I will kill you immediately."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"You were impregnated by a vampire," Leone repeated, a look of amazement on his face. "You are correct in assuming that this had never happened before, though many vampires have had sexual relations with humans."

I bit my lip, staring down at my feet. We had missed the lesson after lunch as I explained my situation. By no means did I trust this new vampire, however, I was quickly running out of options and I couldn't do this on my own, without a doctor of some kind.

"I must contact my leaders," he said suddenly, stepping away from me. "Go home, Isabella, and stay there until I come for you."

"Why should I-"

"If you want to live, you will do what I say." He stared down at me with a stern face. "My leaders are the Volturi."

"That means nothing to me."

"They are the governing force in the vampire world. We set the laws and punish those that do not obey. Your Cullen clan is one of those that has broken the law of secrecy, by telling you of our existence."

"That's why you were hunting them?"

"Yes, that is correct. Instead, I found you, and I am unsure how to approach this situation. Please, return to your home and wait for me. The leaders of the Volturi are some of the oldest of our kind and if anyone has heard of this situation before, it will be them."

I reluctantly agreed and went home with the pretense that I was feeling ill, which was true if nausea due to nervousness counted as a viable ailment. Charlie informed me that he would be home late due to a complication at the station- something about missing paperwork. I wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Now, I had no one to back me up if this whole thing went sour. For the first time I realized how utterly alone I truly was.

Four hours of attempting to distract myself went by before Leone appeared in my kitchen. In one hand he held an expensive looking cellphone, in the other a briefcase. I sat in one of the rickety chairs that surrounded our tiny dining table, staring at the vampire that held my fate with a tinge of fear. He strolled towards me and sat across from me, the briefcase laid in the table between us.

"The leaders of the Volturi are very interested in your case, Isabella," he said, immediately cutting to the chase. I didn't allow myself to relax. 'Interested' did not mean 'they won't kill you'. "They would like to monitor the pregnancy as it progresses, and see the effects to both you and the baby. You would not know this, Isabella, but turning a child into a vampire is a crime in our world. Immortal children are often unstable and uncontrollable. There is no telling whether the child you bare will age until death. There has never been another like it in existence."

"So they- your leaders- haven't heard of anything like this happening before?"

"No, they have not. Hence, their curiosity and skepticism on what may occur after the birth. They wish for you to move to Volterra, the city that is our home, until the birth."

"That's impossible," I said immediately. "My father would never let me leave until I finished my education."

"Yes, I assumed something like that would occur. I have organized a proposition to you that would work as your alibi. The University of Volterra is a very old, historical institution. It is a small school that is extremely difficult to get into and it is, in fact, run by a vampire that is part of the Volturi. We are offering you a full scholarship to complete not only the rest of your high school education, but also continue on to tertiary education if you wish." Leone reached over and opened the case in front of me. "The official documentation lists that you will stay in the dorms of the university, however, where you will really be is in the castle of Volterra, where the best doctors who know of our world will watch over your condition."

"So, I would be moving to Italy for the foreseeable future? I don't even speak Italian!" I protested. "And in what time frame would you expect me to be able to move my whole life away from here?"

"My leaders expect you to be with us by the end of this month, as the child should be born at the beginning of Spring."

I shook my head in disbelief. "I could never be able to pack everything that quickly, not to mention my father still needs to be told and it will take a bit of time for him to process everything!"

"You are an adult, Isabella, your father has no say in whether you accept our offer or not." _And neither do you._

I breathed in deeply, attempting to calm myself. Everything was moving too fast. "May I have some time to think this over?"

He stood up with a thoughtful expression. "Read through the paperwork, Isabella. I will be back this time tomorrow to discuss transporting your valuables to Volterra."

That was a 'no', then.

When I looked up again, he had disappeared, leaving me with a briefcase full of official-looking documents. I quickly moved this to my bedroom and began to sort through it, putting the brochure of the university aside to show Charlie, along with the official letter of my acceptance. It seemed that I was to pretend to have entered into an overseas scholarship test that connected to many different European universities, which I had done very well in and, hence, achieved a full scholarship to such an exclusive institution. It was plausible to believe that I wanted to leave Forks so desperately to take the test, in order to escape the memories of being with Edward.

In truth, I didn't detest Forks that much. It was a place where I had experienced some of the greatest moments of my life (as well as some of the worst). Plus, I knew that Edward, wherever he was, would come here if he wanted to find me-

And wasn't that a ridiculous idea? As if he would want anything to do with my 'fleeting heart'.

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 **I'm a bit late so yay for a double upload!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

We were on the plane.

Demetri- and it was Demetri now, I had spent nearly every day with him for the past two weeks so I felt familiar enough with him- sat next to me with a novel by Dan Brown in his hands. It surprised me a bit how much he was into mystery novels, especially ones where there was a puzzle to solve, but I guess being a vampire didn't give you much to do with your life. He had been surprisingly amiable towards my father as he acted as an ambassador for the university, who had gone undercover at my school to see whether I was worthy of the scholarship.

Charlie, predictably, had been initially wary of the sudden offer, and then delighted when he realized it was legit. He kept bragging to all of his friends about his genius daughter, who had quickly gotten over her heartbreak and had made it into one of the best universities in the world. I did my best to grin and bear it, even though I knew that it wasn't studying that was lying ahead of me in Volterra.

This was our second plane ride in the past few days- the first was direct from Seattle to Rome, which took over 20 hours. Now, we flew from Rome to Pisa, and then would travel from Pisa to Volterra via train. We sat in first class for both flights, which was exceptionally nicer than economy. The luxury was something I could get used to, if I wasn't fretting over my fate, and the fate of my child.

It seemed that 24 weeks was the time for the baby to pop out. My belly was round and bulging, obvious through even the sweater I wore. The flight attendants seemed to assume that Demetri and I were a young couple, and I didn't bother to dispute it. The baby had started to move and roll around, especially in the last week where it had become extremely active. I had been a little worried because by now most expectant mothers had had a lot of doctor's appointments, where they had vitamins and things prescribed to them. Just knowing that my baby was moving and 100% alive brought a large amount of relief and joy.

The attendants began to walk up and down the plane and order us to buckle our seatbelts. Demetri and I complied, but I went to pee before just in case, because pregnancy made my bladder at least ten times smaller.

.

The airport in Pisa was covered in green and full of charm. It was so different from the sterile airports in the USA and I couldn't help but smile as Demetri led us towards the train station. He was pushing out luggage in a trolley in front of him even though I'd gained a significant amount of superhuman strength from this pregnancy. Hopefully, all these wonderful upgrades would stay after I had the baby. I didn't fancy becoming clumsy again, or losing the new reddish tinge to my hair.

Unfortunately, despite my new gracefulness, I tended to walk in a waddle due to my baby bump. I could see Demetri peeking at me as we went, an amused smile across his face.

"I'd like to see you carry around a pound and a half baby that enjoys doing somersaults in your stomach," I grumbled. "You'd think that with this kid being not quite human, it wouldn't make me so big."

"I don't think it works that way, unfortunately," Demetri chuckled next to me. "It is likely that the child is mostly human, judging by the normalcy of your pregnancy. I imagine a vampire child would be much harder for you to carry."

"Ah, but you forget that my body has changed to adapt to a vampire child," I pointed out. We had reached our train, which was leaving in five minutes. Our seats ended up being towards the back, thankfully near the only toilet. The ride would take a little over an hour and half, which I planned to spend eating since most of the plane food upset my stomach. As the train started moving, Demetri handed me the McDonald's meal I had forced him to buy me, the greasy smell reminded me of home.

"Have you thought anymore as to why neither you or Edward could penetrate my mind?" I asked, more to start conversation than anything else. I didn't want to awkwardly eat beside him.

"We should test this ability to block out mind powers with my leaders first, however, I believe that it may be a latent power that exists in your family line that will become a gift that you can control if you are turned into a vampire."

I frowned. "So, if I became a vampire the fact that mind reading and stuff doesn't work on me will change?"

"If anything, it would manifest into a power that would allow you to shield against most vampire gifts, or perhaps shield others. Of course, this is all speculation." He gazed thoughtfully out the window. "Your body is changing to adapt to the child you are carrying, though we are not sure why. Your blocking power will, therefore, likely grow stronger like the rest of you."

I couldn't help but gulp slightly. Sure, the changes in grace and strength had been great, but they were minor changes. Gaining an actual super power was a bit much. I couldn't imagine me, plain old Bella, with a supernatural ability.


End file.
